Sheed tempers expectations on second high school, calls for certainty on site

By Max Stainkamph

Sep 12, 2022

Holding firm: State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed has tempered calls for a new school in Mooroopna, saying it would need to match the facilities at GSSC to be viable. Photo by Megan Fisher

State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed has called for certainty around the former Mooroopna High School site, but tempered calls for a new school at the location.

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Last week, Mooroopna community members launched a petition for a new public high school in Mooroopna following the site’s closure when the Greater Shepparton Secondary College was created following the merger of four schools across Greater Shepparton.

Ms Sheed said if a second school was to be built, it would need to match the standards of the facilities at the GSSC and provide as much opportunity.

“No-one would want to go to a second-class facility,” she said.

“Mooroopna was a school the city had passed by, it had about 300 students when we closed it down from 1000 or so.

“There was a strong reason the government chose to bring them together to bring equity and to provide more opportunity.”

She said for a town such as Tatura to have its own high school would be dependent on community support.

“I think it would depend on how many people would be prepared to send their kids to a smaller facility in a smaller town,” Ms Sheed said.

When asked about her thoughts on the petition for a new school, Ms Sheed said she believed there was a strong desire to address the “large empty school” in Mooroopna and to use the land to best effect.

“We need to have a discussion about what’s developed there,” she said.

“We have a strong arts centre there, which can be developed into a community arts hub, while I’ve been looking closely at other community facilities there.”

Of the four former schools it’s the only site yet to have a plan for its future from the Department of Education and Training.

The former Wanganui site will be used by Verney Rd School, while the former McGuire College will be used as part of the expansion of the Goulburn Murray Trade Skills Centre operated by Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE. The GSSC is built on the site of the former Shepparton High School.

Ms Sheed said there was scope to create community gardens, a Men’s Shed, community sport facilities and an arts hub at Mooroopna.